Technology news

Motorola “Shamu”/Nexus 6 finally gets more detailed leaks

Android L, and its reference Nexus device or devices, is just a month or so away. So naturally, rumors surrounding those new Nexus smartphone and/or tablet are starting to settle down. The Motorola “Shamu”, alternately referred to as the Nexus 6 and the Verizon Moto S, is also starting to take a more solid shape, a shape that closely resembles an overgrown and beefed up Moto X.

By overgrown, they mean a display size of 5.92 inches, practically 6 inches. And by beefed up, they mean that the screen will boast of a QHD resolution of 2560×1440 and will run on a 2.6 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 and have 3 GB of RAM. Storage size isn’t fixed yet, but as far as Nexus smartphones go, we can’t be blamed if we expect 16 and 32 GB configurations, without a microSD card to supplement. There will be a 13 megapixel camera on the back, capable of shooting 4K videos, and a 2 GB shooter on the front.

But that’s just for the innards. Outside, the Shamu/Nexus 6 is expected to also look a lot like the new Moto X, only bigger. One difference that 9to5Google expects, though, at least based on their mockup above, is that lock and volume buttons will be located further down the right edge. Definitely a strange position not found in most smartphones, but one that is theoretically easier to reach, especially for a device this big. On the back side, everything is as they should be, even the dual LED flash on the camera, unlike the split style that was leaked for the Verizon DROID Turbo. One thing the mockup doesn’t indicate well is branding, both the conventional Nexus name on the back as well as the hole that will be left by the absence of the large “M” that is present on the regular Moto X.

If these leaks and speculations do ring true, then Google would be truly entering the phablet world, which might eat into the Nexus 7 market. But then again, Google’s rumored next Nexus tablet will be a 9-inch one from HTC, so the two roads will still not meet. We will just have to wait for mid-October or early November to see if any of these come to pass.